The World
by Shadow Tigress a.k.a Kit
Summary: I don’t know what kind of virus it is. It keeps fighting everything I try to do to disengage it. It’s not like any virus I’ve ever seen. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Kit: Hello, all my loyal readers! I know you wanted a sequel to _Cat Woman vs. The Phoenix_, but I'm trying to work out some inspiration for it as we speak...er 'as I type'...So, I'll work on this for a while to keep all of you occupied while I try to think up a way for a sequel for the other story. If anyone has any suggestions, then just send it in your review! Thanks!

Tala: Get to reading people!

Disclaimer for Smart People: I don't own any of the original Beyblade characters!

Disclaimer for Dummies: I no own; you no sue!

* * *

Title: The World  
Chapter # and Title: 1 The Beginning 

Summary: One of Rayne's old friends is a computer programmer. She has developed a program where one's body can be sucked into another dimension to live an alternate life there. If they don't wish to do that, then they can just play there as if it were a virtual game. She calls it 'The World'. After discovering a virus in the system, she asks Rayne to help her. The problem is, the program has already gone world wide, and the whole world's population is in the program. If they don't figure out the virus soon, the whole world will pay...

* * *

Rayne typed quickly, her fingers flying across the keyboard that lay in front of her on the desk. Her eyes were focused on the screen of the computer, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Heaving a sigh, she turned in her swivel-chair and looked at her friend, Kit Catasashi, "I don't know what type of virus it is. It keeps fighting everything I try to do to disengage it. It's not like any virus I've ever seen." 

Kit sighed, "Thank you, my friend. We may just have to go into the system manually and fix it inside."

Rayne stood up, smoothening out the creases in her pants as she looked at her old friend, "I can help. It's been a while since I've helped out a friend."

Kit grinned at her, "Thank you so much. We'll have to get into the virtual world through one of the virtual transports. Then, we'll go from there."

Rayne nodded, "Alright, I'll send myself in first, since you know the most about what you're doing. You can follow after me." Kit agreed.

Kit walked over to the far side of the room, pushing open the heavy wooden doors to reveal three dark blue pod-like structures that look a bit like a cross between a fighter jet and a motorcycle, just without the wheels or wings. Rayne walked over to the first transport, heels tapping on the tiled floor as she walked, and pushed a button on the side to open it up. It popped open and Rayne sat down inside. It closed and a filter opened up in the side and some kind of steam spewed out from it. Rayne knew not to panic; she'd watched this done tons of times.

When Rayne woke up, the first thing she did was look down at her clothing, which had changed drastically from the light grey pants suit she'd worn in the office. To her surprise, she was wearing a dark red spaghetti strap top that stopped to show her stomach, but transparent material flared out at the bottom, the color of the top. Her skirt was somewhat like a sarong, lined with red satin on the inside. It was tied at the right side of her waist, and showed her thigh. She got over the game's choice of her clothing and looked at what lay under her right hand. A long golden staff, a gold crescent moon sitting at the top, sat under her hand. Atop the staff, floating in the middle of the crescent moon with nothing holding it up was a huge garnet.

Suddenly, she wondered what the game had done to her face, and she murmured to herself, "I need a mirror." Much to her surprise, a mirror appeared in her hand. Her eyes widened but she held it up to look at herself.

Her face was tanned, her eyes a gleaming ruby color. In the middle of her forehead hung a teardrop-shaped garnet, hanging down from a gold headband-liketiara that went around her forehead. Two pointed bangs fell to frame her face, obsidian in color. The rest of her hair still went to her ankles, braided down her back. A piece of dark red silk was twisted between the strands of the braid.

She stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes filled with wonderment, "What…or who am I?" she asked herself.

Suddenly, a computer voice rang out into the wilderness that she had been transported into.

"You are a Mage Dancer, the magical form of a Belly Dancer. Your powers range from seduction to the casting of simple and complicated spells. You are not as powerful as the sorcerer-level mage, but will receive power points for every enemy that you defeat throughout the game. Depending on the enemies power level, you can get as many as ten points added to your power level." The voice dropped off and Rayne grinned to herself.

"Cool…" she muttered to herself. She pushed herself up, looking around at where the game had sent her. She stood in the middle of a desert, surrounded by white sand on all sides. She could feel the warmth of the moving earth beneath her feet, which were bare and free of cloth of any kind. After noticing this, she hoped there weren't any sharp objects on the ground anywhere around her.

She twirled the staff in one of her hands, murmuring something to herself. The staff glittered a bright red and shrunk into a ring, a crescent moon with a garnet set in the curl of it in the middle of the ring. She fingered the ring in one hand, before placing it on her right ring finger. Suddenly, bright gold bands of light beaming next to her caught her attention.

Kit appeared next to her, dressed somewhat differently than she was. Her long pink-purple hair fell straight to her shoulders, spiking out at the bottom. Her top was made in the fashion of a bustier, silvery-black in color. Black net sleeve-like gloves covered her arms stopping just above her elbow, the net was woven in a way that it looked like spider webs ran over her arms. A black skirt, slit up to her mid-thigh on both sides, covered her lower body. Her shoes were black leather boots, with small heels that weren't at all high. A black-hilted sword was strapped to her back. Her skin was a bit paler than usual, and her pink-amber eyes were a bit more mysterious.

Rayne looked over at her, "What're you?" she asked, looking at her costume.

Kit looked down at herself, "Spider Web Mage, a level below your type of mage. I'm a cross between a Dark Mage and an Earth Mage. I'm not as powerful in 'body-language', if you'd call it that, as you are, but I'm your equal in basic power. You're better in hand-to-hand combat, because of your 'flexibility', so that's why you're a level higher than me."

Rayne looked at her, "Interesting color for a mix between Dark and Earth…" she muttered.

Kit looked over at her friend, smiling slightly at her, "This game doesn't base your clothing on what type of creature or magic user you end up being. Actually, you choose that, too.It bases it on your personal personality. You know, favorite colors, favorite element, basic body type, etcetera."

Rayne nodded half-heartedly, not really listening to anything her friend said,"Which way are we supposed to go?"

Kit looked all around them, her eyes calculating and sharp, "I think there's a village a few miles from here. We can go there, although we may not be welcomed with open arms, it's the best we can do."

Rayne grinned at her optimistically, "It can't be all that bad, let's go!"

Kit looked at her strangely, "Alright, Rayne…It's your funeral…"

Rayne winced as a large, burly man forced her up against a wall, now regretting her earlier optimism, "We don't like your sluttish kind around here, messin' up our kids minds."

Kit had gone off into the market, leaving her behind in the crowd, that is, until she'd been cornered like a rat by this large man she didn't even know!

Suddenly, Kit appeared down the road, trying to get to her, "Rayne, use your staff!" she cried to her.

Rayne stared at her, "It's turned into a ring. I don't know how to get it to turn back!"

Kit pushed a man out of the way, stumbling slightly as she almost tripped over one of the man's friend's feet, "Take off the ring, throw it into the air, and yell 'Garnet Staff, Ignite! You'll catch it instinctively!"

Doing as she was told, the entire cobblestone road was soon covered with a ruby-red light and a shout of "Garnet Staff, Ignite!" cut through what little bit of silence wasn't taken by the whispers of other merchants in the market who didn't want to get in the man's way to help her.

Just as Kit had said, she caught it as it fell towards her, almost as if it had just fallen into her arms. Falling into a fighting stance, she narrowed her eyes sharply at him. She twirled the staff in her hand, landing itin a strong and intimidating pose, "Garnet Stroblitz!" she shouted angrily, and a bright light erupted from the garnet on her staff. The rest of the next few minutes were a big blur. When she could finally see, the man gave her a frightened look and took of down the road, stumbling past people as their feet tripped him up.

She murmured something and the staff shimmered brightly, changing into a ring and floating itself onto her right ring finger. Kit came to stand next to her, giving her a look over to make certain she was alright. Once satisfied that she had escaped unscathed, she gave her a smacking clap on the shoulder, a grin lighting up her face, "That was amazing, Rayne. I never knew you had it in you to fight!"

Rayne returned her smile, "Hehe…I didn't know I had it in me, either…" she said lightly with a sarcastic laugh.

Elsewhere in The World…

A dark figure stood in the shadows, long blue-grey hair falling to his shoulders. The figure was clearly male, his slightly bulky and muscular figure giving that away.

The man wore a dark grey shirt, silver armor plates sitting atop his shoulders. His pants were slightly baggy, similar somewhat to dress slacks in the real world. His shoes were simple leather boots, the color to match his shirt. His eyes were a deep burgendy, and showed the obvious tiredness from all of his years of living, so judging from this he was old, but it was hard to tell exactly how old.

Behind him knelt a lithe but muscular young man, much younger than him. His head was bowed, but his features were still visible. Blond hair spiked about his face, setting off fiery but cold blue eyes. His shirt was a wine-red color, a long cloak of the same color wafting out behind him. His pants were black, simple and comfortable. His shoes were somewhat similar to black boots, but didn't have high legs. Instead, his boots just rose to his ankles. He was kneeling to the old man, who had his back turned to him, giving him orders.

"Vladimir, I have a new mission for you."

The young man's head rose at the sound of his name, "Yes sir, what is my new mission? It is an honor to work for you."

The old man turned, a smirk appearing on his face, "The future queen of the Fire Realm and the future queen of the Ice Realm have arrived, but their future husbands are no where to be seen just yet. I do believe that putting the two queens in danger will flush them out…That will be your new mission.

"But, you must wait on your first move for a while. The two queens must first meet their future husbands. That may take a while, considering the hearts of the two Realms' princes are so frozen over, the sun couldn't defrost them. Give them time, then attack when you see fit. Be sure the princes see you in the act, of course. That way they know they need to give chase."

The blond man nodded stiffly, a smirk coming to his face as well, "Yes sir, I will get on it as soon as possible."

The old man glared at him, "The two girls are not going to be easy to catch. They are clever, extremely so.Why else would the princes of the two realms choose them over all the others? I want you to go after the Fire Realm queen first. I want revenge on the Fire Realm prince."

The young man gave him a strange look, "But, sir? Which one is the Fire Realm queen?"

The old man growled, "The one that looks the part of a seductress, the Mage Dancer." To put emphasis on his point, the old man picked up a transparent crystal ball from the desk behind him, shaking it in his hand slightly before handing it over to the blond man.

"This is what she looks like," he paused in his explanation as the crystal ball began to cloud up and the picture of a young woman, two long raven bangs framing her face, appeared in the middle of it. "Her name…is Rayne. When you believe you are close to her, just pull this out, speak her name to it, and it will lock onto her power signature and lead you to her. I'd advise you to get her quickly before my patience runs thin with you."

The blond man nodded, "You have my word, Sir. I will get the future queen of the Fire Realm for you." Their maniacal laughter filled the air, then the old man cleared his throat and the younger looked at him, his laughter dying out.

"Get moving, Vlad. We haven't got all day, you know."

The young man jumped to his feet, bowing slightly before he exited their hideout in a flash of gold bands of light.

The old man turned, his eyes narrowing in the darkness, "Get ready, grandson…Grandpa's back and your wife's about to be my guest…If that's what you'd call it these days…"

* * *

Kit:Well, that's the first chapter! So, who's the man that's trying to kidnap Rayne! And, who're the Princes of the Fire and Ice Realms he wants revenge on so badly! Find out in the next chapter of _The World!_

Tala: Don't forget, readers! READ AND REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Kit: It's the second installment of 'The World'! Yay! Enjoy everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, but I own everything the owner of Beyblade doesn't own.  
Disclaimer for Dummies: I no own; you mo sue.

* * *

Title: The World  
Chapter # and Title: 2- Fiery and Icy Fights.

* * *

Rayne sighed as she followed after Kit, looking around in the vast and seemingly-never-ending desert that surrounded them, dispersing the perspiration on her brow with the back of her palm. She looked over at her friend again, reminded of the happenings of the past few days that they had spent in the scorching desert. As far as she could remember, she herself had seen at least two or more oases. Kit, on the other hand, had seen at least five normal oases, three filled with vanilla ice cream, and one filled with jelly. (Why an oasis filled with jelly even crossed Kit's mind was beyond the both of them.) 

"How long until we reach this…Fire Realm, again, Kit?" Rayne asked.

Kit turned, pushing a bang that had plastered itself to her forehead out of her eyes, "We should be there soon, and they are very secretive and have a hidden entrance. Since I've explored this area before, I know where it is. Trust me." As soon as she finished her sentence she turned around and they slipped through a portal into a bustling marketplace, venders calling out for shoppers to buy their merchandise because it was better than any other.

Meanwhile at the Fire Realm palace…

A young man stood in front of a large screen, flames surrounding the screen, keeping it up. The man had flaming red hair and icy blue eyes. In the middle of the screen were none other than Rayne and Kit. He smirked and turned briefly from the screen, to call to his friend, "Oh, Kai…"

A second young man entered the room, looking at the other with a bored expression on his face, "What, Tala?" he grunted.

Tala grinned, making a gesticulation to the screen with one hand, "It would seem that we have visitors…"

Kai's eyes switched to the screen, "Very cute visitors…"

Tala smirked at him, "Which one? The raven-haired exotic beauty? You were always one for foreign treasures, Kai.

Kai grunted, "And I suppose you like the Spider-web mage? I always thought you were a bit morbid, Tala. I just didn't think you were that morbid…" he muttered.

Tala grinned goofily, his eyes falling back onto the 'beautiful', or as he'd deemed her, Spider-web mage, "I'd be morbid for her anytime…"

Kai rolled his eyes at his friend, "There's just something about the Mage Dancer's eyes…It's almost like I'm drawn to them…" he trailed off to think over this strange fact.

Tala laughed and it was his turn to roll his eyes, "And you're not drawn to the rest of her?" he asked with a grin.

Kai growled and glared at him, a very fierce glare, indeed, "I'm allowing you to stay here, in _my_ castle while the war between _your_ Ice Realm and the Earth Realm continues. I'd watch my mouth if I was you, or you may find that you 'accidentally' go flying out the tower window tomorrow morning…" he threatened coldly.

Tala grinned. He loved annoying his friend, especially if it meant putting his life on the line…Ok, that might have been a little drastic, but it was still fun. "Alright, Almighty Ice Block, sir. I shan't bad-mouth you or your future mate anymore."

Kai's glare intensified, if that was even possible, "You're pushing it, Tala. You're on thin ice…"

Tala grinned. Kai was about to cave, "Awww…I can't wait for our _date_ tomorrow, Kai…" he cracked.

Kai growled ferociously, sounding almost animalistic, "That's it…You have a date with the tower window tomorrow at dawn…Your thin ice just broke under your fat butt."

Tala grinned, "So, can we go pay them a visit…Maybe bring them back…forever?" he asked nonchalantly, as if it were a normal question.

Kai returned his grin, for the first time that day, "Yes, let's…."

* * *

Rayne looked around at all the merchandise in the market, following after Kit as they pushed their way through the crowds that had accumulated in the large place. They were on their way to the inn in the middle of the Realm (1). Just as they were about to reach it, though, they noticed two hooded figures following after them. Rayne and Kit looked at each other, Kit nodding to the left, while Rayne nodded to the right. They both nodded, and as if they devil, himself were on their heels, shot off in the directions they had nodded in, intent on loosing their pursuers. 

o0o-With Rayne-o0o

Rayne was busily trying to run and take her ring off at the same time. She needed something to protect herself with incase this person was a magic user. Taking a sharp turn to the right, she nearly fell, but managed to catch herself at the last minute, pushing herself forward with her hand. She snatched her ring off her finger just in time because the stranger was catching up fast. Relying on her nimbleness and gracefulness, she took a running leap over a burrow that was standing completely still in the middle of the cobblestone street, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. She jumped up the second after she landed, pushing herself to keep up her pace as she danced and twisted through the crowd as if this was a complicated but beautiful dance that she'd performed tons of times. Suddenly, a dead end greeted her, and she turned, a string of curses floating through her mind as she fingered the ring in her hand anxiously. Hissing out the incantation, there was a flash of magnificent red light and her ring became a staff once more.

The stranger that had been chasing her stopped at the end of the alleyway, a sword, the hilt dark red in color, was held in their hand, pointing directly at her. They wanted to play, did they? Well, two could play at the sword-fighting game. She threw her staff into the air above her, "Garnet Staff Transformation: Garnet Blade!" she shouted on impulse. A sword floated down into her hand. The hilt was the same color as the garnet on her staff had been, and the garnet rested in the hilt just above where she held it.

They circled each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Both giving in at the exact same moment, they lunged at each other in perfect unison. Their blades met in a clash of metal and sparks, clanging together. Rayne stepped back, swinging her blade to the side to catch her opponent in the side. The other twisted to the side, sword banging against her own to keep it from hitting as he/she moved. Giving a growl, Rayne twisted the blade around the other, catching the cloak in the blade. The stranger dropped the completely ruined cloak, revealing a very well-dressed young man. His ruby eyes bore into her own, burning in the shadows of the alley. Slate blue hair looked unkempt and unruly.

Rayne huffed, trying to catch her breath, "Who are you?" she asked, breathing roughly.

The young man smirked at her, "If you win this battle, I'll be more than happy to tell you my name. Of course, if I win, you'll tell me yours."

Rayne smirked, "You've got yourself a deal." she said, twisting the sword around her hand by the hilt.

They circled each other again, swords held out in front of them. Then, just as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. They just stood in their respective places and stared each other down, neither moving an inch. Rayne inhaled just as the stranger exhaled. They were breathing at the same pace, in exact opposite ways. They continued to regard each other with steely looks.

Suddenly, Rayne's eyes clouded over and her sword dropped from her grip, clattering to the ground with a clang of metal against stone. Her form crumpled completely, tumbling ungracefully to the ground. Her opponent dropped his sword and lunged forward, catching her lightly before she fell to the ground. He held her form against his own, his hold…protective? He pushed himself to his feet, his hood slipping back to uncover his face. Tousled slate hair splayed over his forehead and the top of his skull, while dark blue hair covered the back. His eyes were of a wine red hue but seemed richer and deeper than any known wine. His skin was pale, but not a sickly, pasty tinge. The prince of the Fire Realm…

o0o-With Kit-o0o

Kit swung her sword over her head, landing it against her opponent's with a resounding metallic clang. Her left foot slipped back in stance slightly to brace herself as her opponent bore down on her harshly. He was almost too strong for her to hold off, but she knew she'd manage. With a rough grunt, she pushed back as hard as she could, pressing at her opponent with everything she could muster.

The sword's contact broke as the other stepped back, swinging his sword out in a wide arc in front of himself.

Kit watched him silently, her own sword poised in front of her face, ready for any onslaught that he might've had planned. What was he up too? He clearly had something planned; his aura screamed of arrogance that only came in battle when one claimed the upper hand, although managing to keep it from their opponent. Then, she noted something…The air temperature had dropped at least ten degrees in the last minute or so…He was an _Ice Mage_! _OH, SNAP_!

Her realization must have made itself evident on her face, because an aura of cockiness pulsated around her opponent. The air temperature dropped even more, faster than it had to begin with. She shivered in the cold, her entire body shaking with her shudders. Without fire magic, she had no way to keep herself warm…She was going to be frozen…

o0o-With Rayne-o0o

Warmth surged around her body and she stirred slightly from her slumber…That was a dirty, rotten trick! He'd put a sleep spell on her! She sat up, holding her weight up on wobbly arms. She looked down, trying to find the source of the warmth she was experiencing. She was aware that there was no fire burning in the room, so that couldn't be it. She lifted one hand and touched the blankets lightly with her fingertips, pulling them back instantly. A warmth spell had been cast on the blankets. Someone wanted to keep her warm, maybe to keep her asleep for a while (1).

Finding the source of the warmth, she looked around the room. The room she was in was dark red in color. The drapes had been drawn across the windows and it was dark. The bed was at least a king size, maybe bigger…At least ten people could've fit in this bed alone, without even touching each other!

Suddenly, the events of the past few hours came back, and she looked around in anxiousness. Her ring wasn't on her finger, and the familiar weight of her staff or sword was no where to be felt. Her eyes feel on the nightstand next to the bed. She felt waves of relief wash over her as the well-known sight of her ring greeted her as her eyes fell on the cleanest part of the nightstand.

She looked up as the door creaked and then opened. She shielded her eyes as the light blazed in from the other side. A form stood in the doorway, shadowed by the darkness that rested just beyond the threshold of the door. Her eye narrowed as she got a strange sense of déjà vu…This power signature was strangely familiar and the form seemed familiar as well.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she ground out in a level voice.

The stranger walked into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Once the light had been put out, she could see again. Ruby eyes, deeper than her own, watched her from where their owner stood. Unruly slate-blue hair covered the head and fell unkempt onto the nape of his neck. Even in the shadows, his skin was pale, but not too pale. He was wearing a dark red tunic over black pants. His boots went just above his ankles, also black like his pants.

"As for your first question, I won't answer it until I know your name. That was our agreement, and I won our little battle. And your second, you're in my room, in my palace." He answered her.

"A name is a thing of power in this world. Knowing my name would mean that you have power over me and no one has power over me." She said darkly, her eyes narrowing.

"A beautiful rose…" he mused out loud. "A beauty, but you have your thorns."

She growled at his musing, "I don't know whether I should take that as a compliment or as an insult…" she muttered at him.

He smirked at her, "We'll just have to clip you of your thorns, now won't we?"

o0o-With Kit-o0o

Her pink-amber eyes flashed as she moved fluidly, despite the rapidly decreasing temperature around her. Her opponent didn't seem to be having any trouble with the current condition.

With a grunt, Kit swung sideways again, her sword contacting with his once more, before it froze completely…

_What? No!_ Kit thought desperately as she stared down at her sword angrily. She threw it to the side with an aggravated grumble. Her opponent did the same, much to her surprise, and they faced off again.

Kit's hair swung as she moved to the side and caught her opponent in the side with her left foot. Her enemy reeled back, hissing in pain before they regained their fighting composure and stood once more before her before rushing at her at full force.

He stopped right in front of her, his hand flying at her. A chilling wind shot forth from his hand and hit her forcefully and knocked her back, chilling her to the bone. Shivering harshly, she pushed herself to her feet, trying to keep herself warm. Her movements slowed and became sluggish as the temperature dropped increasingly.

His hand flew up once more, this time shards of pure ice flying from his palm. She managed to dodge most of the shards, but a few caught her fishnet sleeves and parts of her skirt. She flew back from the force, grunting as she landed painfully against the wall behind her, pinned against it by the ice shards.

"You'll pay for this." She snorted fiercely.

Her opponent laughed, "I'll bet, Princess. Slumberus." He muttered and her world went dark.(2)

* * *

Kit: Alright, I bet all of you know who did what to whom…If you don't, then I feel for you. Anyway, tell me what you think. (Translation: SEND A REVIEW!) 

(1)- Have you ever noticed that when you're warm while you sleep, you tend to sleep longer and deeper?

(2)- Slumberus- A simple spell used to put someone or something to sleep for a limited and short amount of time. Can be powered up using specific magic (depending on the user; all characters have their own source of power) and used to put to sleep for a longer amount of time. This spell can even be taken so far as to put in a coma or an eternal rest.


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